Begin forwarded message:
From: Paul Levy <plevy@citizen.org>
Date: October 17, 2009 13:38:22 EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: Another issue about the FTC Advertising Guidelines
Although there are some troubling issues at the edges of the FTC's new revisions of its advertising guidelines to address product endorsements by bloggers, Eric Goldman and I have had an exchange of views about whether one aspect of the revisions runs afoul of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Professor Goldman's posts (saying that section 230 makes advertising companies immune from liability for misleading statements by the bloggers they hire) are here http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2009/10/do_the_ftcs_new.htm and here http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2009/10/a_fuller_defens.htm; mine, arguing that section 230 will not protect the companies doing the hiring) is here. http://pubcit.typepad.com/clpblog/2009/10/do-the-ftcs-new-advertising-guidelines-run-afoul-of-section-230.htmlPaul Alan Levy
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 588-1000
http://www.citizen.org/litigation